"With climate change compounding the strains on the #ColoradoRiver, seven Western states are starting to consider long-term plans for reducing #water use to prevent the river’s reservoirs from reaching critically low levels in the years to come.
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"With climate change compounding the strains on the #ColoradoRiver, seven Western states are starting to consider long-term plans for reducing #water use to prevent the river’s reservoirs from reaching critically low levels in the years to come.
But negotiations among representatives of the states have so far failed to resolve disagreements. And now, two groups of states are proposing competing plans for addressing the river’s chronic gap between supply and demand."
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2024-03-08/western-states-divided-colorado-river-plans
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"With climate change compounding the strains on the #ColoradoRiver, seven Western states are starting to consider long-term plans for reducing #water use to prevent the river’s reservoirs from reaching critically low levels in the years to come.
But negotiations among representatives of the states have so far failed to resolve disagreements. And now, two groups of states are proposing competing plans for addressing the river’s chronic gap between supply and demand."
https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2024-03-08/western-states-divided-colorado-river-plans
"Arizona and California, two of the biggest users of the river, said they will give up massive amounts of water going forward, and are asking the rest of the river basin to cut back their water use in the driest years. But upriver states, led by Colorado, are standing firm against more cuts: They rely on variable snowpack for their water supply, they said, so they can’t make promises about how much water they can leave in the river from year to year."
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"Arizona and California, two of the biggest users of the river, said they will give up massive amounts of water going forward, and are asking the rest of the river basin to cut back their water use in the driest years. But upriver states, led by Colorado, are standing firm against more cuts: They rely on variable snowpack for their water supply, they said, so they can’t make promises about how much water they can leave in the river from year to year."
Update:
" Officials worked until the last second to try to pass a landmark water rights deal involving three tribes, the state of Arizona and dozens of other users in the #ColoradoRiver Basin. Now they are setting their sights on trying again with a new Congress. " -
Update:
" Officials worked until the last second to try to pass a landmark water rights deal involving three tribes, the state of Arizona and dozens of other users in the #ColoradoRiver Basin. Now they are setting their sights on trying again with a new Congress. ""Talks kicking off Tuesday in Las Vegas will help determine whether the Trump administration has to step in and take the political heat of deciding how to divide the shrinking river’s water supplies among powerful industries and more than 40 million people — a fight that includes the swing states of Arizona and Nevada, politically influential farmers and ranchers, and burgeoning semiconductor and artificial intelligence companies."
Some of the players (no datacenters):
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/16/colorado-river-water-users-association-conference-00676796
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"Talks kicking off Tuesday in Las Vegas will help determine whether the Trump administration has to step in and take the political heat of deciding how to divide the shrinking river’s water supplies among powerful industries and more than 40 million people — a fight that includes the swing states of Arizona and Nevada, politically influential farmers and ranchers, and burgeoning semiconductor and artificial intelligence companies."
Some of the players (no datacenters):
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/16/colorado-river-water-users-association-conference-00676796
"Without a long-term agreement, the federal government will be pressured to broker a deal - or impose one - before the end of 2026, when the core rules that manage the major reservoirs of Lake Powell and Lake Mead expire.
Current negotiations take place at a time of paltry snowpack in the mountains, with Lake Mead and Lake Powell barely one-third full."
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"Without a long-term agreement, the federal government will be pressured to broker a deal - or impose one - before the end of 2026, when the core rules that manage the major reservoirs of Lake Powell and Lake Mead expire.
Current negotiations take place at a time of paltry snowpack in the mountains, with Lake Mead and Lake Powell barely one-third full."
"We live in an era of compounding climate disasters. The Colorado River might be about to deliver the most complex multilevel train wreck of all.
An unusually warm [winter led] led to a perilous lack of snow in those mountains. And now comes a heat wave that will quickly do away with what little snow there is."
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"We live in an era of compounding climate disasters. The Colorado River might be about to deliver the most complex multilevel train wreck of all.
An unusually warm [winter led] led to a perilous lack of snow in those mountains. And now comes a heat wave that will quickly do away with what little snow there is."
"Las Vegas has reduced its per-capita water use by nearly 60%, through efforts to reduce seasonal irrigation, replace water-intensive landscaping and require new developments to be sustainable.
Phoenix' [water conservation] programs led to a 20% reduction in water use over 20 years, while the population grew by about 40%.
But there are limits on how much these techniques can do as water supplies dry up."
But what about Big Ag in the area?
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"Las Vegas has reduced its per-capita water use by nearly 60%, through efforts to reduce seasonal irrigation, replace water-intensive landscaping and require new developments to be sustainable.
Phoenix' [water conservation] programs led to a 20% reduction in water use over 20 years, while the population grew by about 40%.
But there are limits on how much these techniques can do as water supplies dry up."
But what about Big Ag in the area?
These articles about water conservation by families have a flaw:
"About 52% of the Colorado River’s water is used for irrigated agriculture, while 18% is consumed in urban areas. The rest supports natural vegetation (19%) and evaporates from reservoirs (11%). No water reaches the ocean."
https://www.eesi.org/briefings/view/021925rivers
So, 52% of the water goes to farming, 18% to households. But let's beat on the households.
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These articles about water conservation by families have a flaw:
"About 52% of the Colorado River’s water is used for irrigated agriculture, while 18% is consumed in urban areas. The rest supports natural vegetation (19%) and evaporates from reservoirs (11%). No water reaches the ocean."
https://www.eesi.org/briefings/view/021925rivers
So, 52% of the water goes to farming, 18% to households. But let's beat on the households.
The important question is one of ‘value’ and ‘values’ - *what* is being grown with that irrigation water? Crops directly for human consumption? The Colorado river basin grows something like 90% of the country’s winter veggies. Alfalfa and hay for cattle? Which is better? Veg are *very* water hungry, do they really belong there or is somewhere else better? Cattle feed uses less water, but seems like an inefficient, low value/priority use.
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The important question is one of ‘value’ and ‘values’ - *what* is being grown with that irrigation water? Crops directly for human consumption? The Colorado river basin grows something like 90% of the country’s winter veggies. Alfalfa and hay for cattle? Which is better? Veg are *very* water hungry, do they really belong there or is somewhere else better? Cattle feed uses less water, but seems like an inefficient, low value/priority use.
Among other things, there is the alfalfa grown in Colorado for export as animal feed to the Middle East.
The fact that that is happening, in the face of a water crisis and a climate crisis, tells you that water and energy are not priced correctly.e.g. There are places - Brazil, Tunisia - where the price of water goes up with your water consumption. That protects the poorest families and sends a clear signal.
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R relay@relay.mycrowd.ca shared this topic
